Prince of Lasanod
Eid trim pending
"In 2050 there will be 150 million Ethiopians. That is a major challenge. Clearly maybe 50 or 60 million will be in the cities. You do not want to have the remaining population of a 100 million or so, in the highlands. The situation in the highlands is already unsustainable, and parts of the area are in a Malthusian trap with poor farmers eating up the land, with soil degradation and soil losses due to deforestation. So you have 30 or 40 million that have to be somewhere else.There is a lot of land in the country that is not used. There is a limit to how many livelihoods can be sustained on the highlands, and ways must be found to beat malaria and take advantage of the rivers in the fertile plains in the lowlands. There are three to four million hectares that could be irrigated. This is as much as there is in the rest of the continent."